DRW ARCHITECTURE BLOG

Another catch up post of a completed project. A large project over two phases including a new kitchen, stair, dormer, and covered patio. The mid-century house had been previously remodeled with a classical language and our work aimed to restore its previous narrative and increase transparency to its beautiful secluded lot.

Sorry for the long delay on posts. Finished construction nearly a year and a half ago. The exterior remained mostly untouched, but new windows, interior woodwork and modern fixtures have given the structure a clean cabin aesthetic.

DRW is remodeling and adding onto an 80 year old house high in the West Hills. The remodel, currently in construction, is cleaning up multiple modifications to the original structure and spaces. A new wing with an expansive kitchen, living room and patio will complete the house's transition into modern life.

Some time ago we were very fortunate to do some schematic design for a house on Sauvie Island. We went through a couple of iterations before circumstances halted the project. We wanted to share some of the early visuals we used during our discussions.

We recently went through schematic design steps for the south sylvan project. The site lays on a sloping property with the north end on the main road higher than the south end.

The form is designed with the entry area, master suite, and guest suite on the main level and the public spaces of the kitchen, dining, and living room a half level lower with great access to the south side and higher ceilings. There are also two bedrooms, a bath, and a den above the master suite on the east side. Below the master suite is a utility garage that has access from inside the house.

Half a year has flown by since we started designing the Grant Park Residence's kitchen remodel. It's finally been completed with just a couple of finishing touches left.

For the center of the kitchen, the clients' opted for a table in the center of their kitchen to act as both an island for counter top utility and informal seating for everyday meals. The kitchen sink, a deep drop in cast iron piece, is framed by the tall custom cabinetry for plenty of storage. The clients have a beautiful garden in their back yard that they enjoy so we installed tall windows behind the range and put them into a deep 30" counter. There is also a small prep sink nearby to fill pots and wash items.

The end of the sink wall houses the refrigerator and pantry space. The pantry cabinet also houses the microwave and contains (2) deep pull out drawers below and (1) short pull out drawer above for visibility and ease of access. More tall storage cabinets sit above the pantry and refrigerator.

A desk nook was built with adjustable shelving to frame the window. The desktop is crafted from reclaimed wood from the house. The original old wood was too good to pass up.

As promised, here is the latest on the Deschutes Residence to bring everything up to date.

Below are some more detailed images to show progress on the residence's fireplaces. The exterior patio's fireplace is currently under construction and will be made of board formed concrete. The living room fireplace and master bedroom fireplace are made of dry stacked stone. The living room fireplace anchors both the entry axis and the circulation axis. The entry axis continues straight through the living area and dining area and finally out to the view of the Cascade Mountains.

It's been a while since we've had an update on the Deschutes Residence. These photos were taken at varying stages of progress a few months ago. We'll have another update the week of October 12th to share the current status, but in the meantime, enjoy!

Work is continuing at the Deschutes residence, which is now approaching its final form. Since our last update the majority of the framing has been completed, and installation of the roofing and windows has begun.

We completed our work at the Goose Hollow Heights a couple months ago. The project included an interior remodel to create a kitchen and breakfast nook more in keeping with the style of the house, as well as the addition of a new mudroom. Major bearing walls were removed and replaced with new beams, in order to open up the interior layout. New windows were added in the kitchen to replace an unsympathetic window and door system added during a previous remodel. The cabinets were custom built for the project by our frequent collaborator Crownwood Construction.

Work recently came to a close at the Nettle Creek Residence. The owners were looking for a kitchen upgrade. The space was originally split in half with hanging upper cabinets creating a cramped U-shaped kitchen and small dining area. The heaviness of the space was amplified by the use of dark stained wood.

The goal was to open up the space and bring in more of the nice southern light. We removed the hanging cabinets and the soffits, widened the windows to open up the views, and installed new french doors to the deck. New appliances and finishes rounded out the kitchen remodel.

The final touches will include a dining table set at the end of the island and new hanging pendant lights over the island.

The house was originally built in 1914, and has been remodeled a number of times. These remodels included an addition to the house for the kitchen, which was built in 1989. Unfortunately, the cumulative effect of the various remodels was a ground floor layout which made poor use of the available space, and devoted a lot of area to circulation. The major part of our work is to open up this layout and create a more efficient kitchen with a new breakfast area. We are also adding a new covered entryway and mudroom at the southwest corner of the house.

Since our last update, the covered entry and mudroom addition has taken shape:

At the interior we had to deal with removing the original bearing walls. 12" deep glulam beams are now carrying the loads from the floor and walls above:

The Corbett-Terwilliger Residence is nearing completion, and was looking beautiful on a sunny day back in October. One of our carpenters, Lindsay, was busy installing cedar shingles at the front porch, which is one of the last areas of exterior work.

The biggest change since our last update earlier this year is to the interiors, where we have concentrated our work on finish carpentry. The windows and doors throughout the house are cased with fir trim, and the stair hall has custom fir wainscoting.

The kitchen cabinets, built by our frequent collaborators Skyline Fine Cabinets, have all been installed.